12 Sep 2018  |   04:41am IST

Singing praises to Lord Ganesha

‘Mangal Murti Morya’ is the first Konkani devotional video song written by John Aguiar and composed and sung by noted musician Mukesh Ghatwal. The song was released recently ahead of the Ganesh celebrations in the state. Café speaks to Mukesh and John to learn about the making of the song

Dolcy D’Cruz

Lord Ganesha is praised for his unlimited

characteristics and his ability to give strength and happiness. The first Konkani devotional video song, ‘Mangal Murti Morya’, was recently released in Goa. The music is composed, arranged and also sung by Mukesh Ghatwal. The chorus is sung by Puja Naik Mandrekar, John Aguiar, Kedar Naik and Palash Ghatwal. The cast includes Mukesh Ghatwal, Sujata Kurtarkar Raikar, Puja Naik Mandrekar, Rakshanda Ghatwal, Isha Naik, Kalpesh Naik, Pralhad Mayekar and Shubham Borkar. The cinematography is by BasavRaj and the video is directed and edited by Uday Kamat of Doordarhsan Kendra, Panjim.

The lyrics of the video are written by Information Officer of Department of Information and Publicity, John Aguiar, also a writer, poet and lyricist. “A few years ago, I had written the lyrics for a song on Jesus Christ and I thought that I should write devotional songs on Hindu gods and goddesses as well. My mother and wife, both are Hindus and for the last three years, I have been bringing the idol of Lord Ganesha to my Verem residence. Previously, I had written a song on Lord Damodar, which was sung by Samiksha Bhobe and another song on Lord Damdodar that was sung by Gautami Hede and was featured in an album by Siddhanth Buyao. I wrote this song three years ago and I have written 5-6 songs on Lord Ganesha,” says John, who regularly features his writings and poems on his blog.

John approached Mukesh Ghatwal to add music to his lyrics with the intention of finally releasing the single this festive season. “The lyrics of the song are praises to Lord Ganesha on how he dispenses pain and spreads love in the world and even though we make mistakes as human beings, he is always guiding us. I spoke to Mukesh and sent him the lyrics to which he added music and prepared a demo. It sounded great and I felt it deserved a video. We worked on a zero percent budget as everyone volunteered for the video. Uday Kamat, Porgramme Executive at Doordarshan Kendra, Panjim was of a great help in directing the video. The video was shot at the Varasiddhivinayak Ganesh Temple at Dona Paula,” explains John.

Mukesh Ghatwal has composed and sung the song. “I do sing my jingles but it was nice to be featured singing in the video of this song. This is the first Konkani devotional song I have composed. Every year, I used to compose at least 2-3 songs in Hindi and Marathi for Dekhavas, a moving presentation of Lord Ganesha in different parts of Goa. I used to work on the songs depending on the theme of their presentation and they wanted it in different languages. When John Aguiar asked me to compose the music for hisKonkani lyrics; I was thrilled,” says Mukesh.

“The song is a Goan and Indian fusion song and I have used Goan instruments like kansale, shamel and dhol. There are also Indian and Western musical instruments including a live recorder – a flute-like instrument. As a Goan, I always feel the need to promote Goan music or adding Goan flavour to the song,” adds Mukesh.

The video is available on Youtube and has been gaining views since its official release. The song was shot over three days at Varasiddhivinayak Ganesh Temple, Dona Paula and makes for pleasant listening for the festival.